TOURISM is booming in Ipswich with 1.5 million visitors visiting the city and spending $325.5 million throughout last year.
The international visitor market continues to recover, with 2.1 million visitors (76.3 per cent recovered, compared to pre-COVID-19) to Queensland generating a record $6.2 billion in overnight visitor expenditure.
Six in ten visitors spend a minimum of $1,000 during their stay in Queensland, with the most popular mode of holiday transport is by road, with 57 per cent of visitors travelling across Queensland by car.
Last year, Queensland welcomed 2.1 million international and 25.6 million domestic visitors, who spent $34.7 billion – $95 million a day in our backyard.
China has returned as Queensland’s top tourism market by visitor expenditure generating $833 million, followed by New Zealand ($821m), Japan ($511m), the United Kingdom ($499m), and the USA ($460m).
New Zealand (466,000) led the way on visitor numbers, followed by the USA (215,000), the United Kingdom (209,000), Japan (158,000) and China (143,00).
Queensland regained its number one market share position in the domestic holiday market, with 10.8 million holiday visitors spending $14.8 billion, a 28 per cent market share.
Tourism Minister Michael Healy said it was exciting to see figures return to pre-COVID rates, however market conditions made it challenging to remain strong over time.
“It is encouraging to see business travel continuing to return as this is such an important market to help us fill the mid-week,” Minister Healy said.
“Our international figures are well above the industry’s targets in the Towards Tourism 2032 plan. Whilst visitor numbers are still recovering, which is felt in many of our regions, the good news is that those that do come are spending more.
“China’s return as our biggest market by overnight expenditure is encouraging and the growth of other markets is important for many regions around the state.”
Tourism and Events Queensland CEO Patricia O’Callaghan said it was great to see tangible results throughout the industry.
“The return of international tourists is gaining momentum and while we still have solid recovery work to do, the results show that our hard work is moving us in the right direction,” she said.
“We also remain front of mind for domestic holidaymakers and while we’ll continue to fight for the leading market share.”
